“Daddy, can we have a teeny little sip, please?”
– Emily, eyeing the soda bottle in Daddy’s hand

“No, big sip!”
– Amanda, telling it like it is!

“I love you, big girl.”
– Mama, tucking Emily into her bed for the night

“I love you, big mama.”
– Emily, very sweetly

“Mama, why does it say ‘tem tem tem tem’?”
– Emily, pointing to four “TM” symbols next to brand names on the back of her cereal box

“May have 2-4-6-8 prunes please?”
– Amanda, who had apparently been listening to Emily and Mama review even and odd numbers at school that morning

“Mama, I need some of that LC stuff for my boo-boo.”
– Emily, who had been crying softly in her room over a bothersome hangnail

“You mean TLC?”
– Mama, finishing putting a band aid on the boo-boo, and giving it a kiss

“Yes. You know– the goopy stuff that comes in the little tube.”
– Emily, refering to antibacterial ointment, and clearly not satisfied with the kiss

“I like this cheese!!”
– Emily, happily munching a piece of muenster cheese Daddy gave her

“Really?!”
– Mama, who got a definite negative from Emily the last time she tried muenster

“I just changed from un-like it to like it!”
– Emily, with gusto

“Oh!! Mama! That man over there doesn’t have a woman like you!
– Emily, greatly distressed, in loud whisper, in the middle of church service

“Mama, he’s sitting by himself!”
– Emily, thinking Mama’s lack of answer while attempting self-control meant she didn’t understand

“My bottom hurts.”
– Amanda, for no discernable reason, while eating dinner

(Later): “Where’s your fork?”
– Mama, to Amanda, wondering why she’s not eating

“Now we know why her bottom hurts!”
– Daddy, after a brief search located the missing fork directly under Amanda